Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Debra Teachman's useful companion to the works of Jane Austen
begins with a chapter on her "Life." Smoothly combined with the
biography is information that provides context for the novels,
forestalling criticism that Austen's scope as a writer is limited,
and offering background on aspects of the works that might puzzle
readers, especially American students, such as a brief explanation of
how Anglican rectors attain "livings." Additionally, Teachman
includes excerpts from a variety of contemporary accounts of Austen's
life, introducing students to primary sources.

Teachman also places Austen's work within the context of the
development of the novel, describing its different genres and
antecedents, including The Gothic Novel, The Epistolary Novel, and
The Conduct Book. This section refers to many contemporary novelists,
such as Walpole, Swift, Burney, and Richardson, giving students a
resource for additional reading. Furthering this end, Teachman's
bibliography is a well-organized guide to "Historical Documents,"
"Biographical Material," and "Reviews and Criticism."

The rest of the Companion is divided into six chapters, one
for each of Austen's major novels, in order of publication date. Each
section opens with an introduction to the novel containing
publication history, and further biography. Then Teachman comments on
"Plot Development," "Character Development," and "Thematic Issues."
Finally, she offers a critical perspective on each novel--feminist
readings for Sense and Sensibility and Emma, historical
contexts and an economic reading of Pride and Prejudice, a
psychological interpretation of Mansfield Park, a
metafictional approach for Northanger Abbey, and a
sociohistorical reading of Persuasion. Without providing
startling insights, these mini-essays introduce different ways of
interpreting Austen's novels and survey the practice of literary
studies. One of the strengths of the Companion is the
briefness with which it presents a great deal of material--it does
not pretend to be all-inclusive, but offers extensive opportunities
for independent study and allows students to form their own
opinions.

The "Plot Development" segments are essentially summaries, but
they are not so thorough that they could be viewed as a substitute
for reading the text. They provide a review, but nothing more.
Furthermore, I found one detail in the summary section of Pride
and Prejudice that I felt was in error--Teachman states that
Wickham "courts Elizabeth quite openly, while, at the same time
convincing the fifteen-year-old Lydia to run off with him secretly."
Although that was the only place where I questioned her reading of
the texts, I would caution students that this is a helpful, but not
infallible, guide to Austen's novels.

Although not perfect, Teachman's Companion is far superior
to the Cliffs Notes (sic) guide to Pride and Prejudice. In
terms of content, the downloadable version of the Notes is not much
different from the old familiar Cliffs Notes. I found the detailed
summaries and commentaries to be both accurate and comprehensive,
though of course the "what happens" and "what it means" format of
Cliffs Notes stifles alternative interpretations. The Notes also
offer a glossary and short analyses of each major character, in
addition to other study aids. The list of resources for further study
is hardly worth mentioning, especially in comparison with Teachman's
excellent list--it is a potentially misleading mix of scholarly
books, not-so scholarly books, web sites, and videos.

The Notes end with two sample essays. One addresses "Women's Roles
in Early Nineteenth Century Britain" and the other explains "Money in
Pride and Prejudice." The information contained in each essay
is harmless, and may even illuminate a reading of the novel, but
their packaging is dangerous. No author is given for either essay
(presumably they were written by Kalil) and they contain only one
reference to an outside source. As general introductory material they
would be acceptable, but under the heading of "Critical Essays" they
give a false impression that such essays need not be carefully
researched with full documentation of sources used. Furthermore,
their lack of authorial attribution seems to invite borrowing.

This is especially disturbing since all of this easily digestible
information comes in a cheap, slick, and user-friendly electronic
package that purchasers can save onto their computers, copy, and
excerpt by cutting and pasting. The download is fast, easy, and
inexpensive enough for almost any student, and available at any time.
To make improper use of paper Cliffs Notes a student has to find an
open bookstore and be willing to retype the material. The Adobe
version is all too accessible to a student in a panic about an
assignment in the middle of the night.

However, both of these sources provide a teacher with an
opportunity, if their limitations become the subject under
discussion. Helping students to question the authority, reliability,
and comprehensiveness of resources for study can help them become
more critical readers, more confident in their own readings of texts,
and thus less likely to make inappropriate use of Cliffs Notes and
the innumerable sources of papers and uncited information available
on the Internet.

Amanda Kenny is a graduate student at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison.